Pete, I'm waiting for the next dip in SFI and quiet geomagnetic conditions, and I'll be back on 80m.  Still waiting for you to call in one of these days!  I try to be on for EC sunrise.  1/4 wave vertical with 90 radials and 1.5KW.  If you can hear me, I will hear you (1000ft Beverage toward W2/W3)

73, Dave

JD1/O is a popular Japanese tourist destination easily accessed from Tokyo by ferry.

JD1/M is a JMSA base and former USCG loran station.  Access is restricted to JMSA military members.  It's somewhat suprising it is as active as it is (look at Wake in comparison).

73, Dave

Don't mean to resurrect a dead thread, but Harry JG7PSJ/JD1BMH was on Guam last weekend for the CQWW CW contest and I had an opportunity to talk with him quite a bit.  He is completely aware of the high demand for JD1 especially on the east coast.  Apparently most of the population lives on the west side of the main island, and there is a large mountain blocking the path to NA.

He may be returning for a couple days later this month... I asked him to do his best to try to get on for NA and I think he will try.

73, Dave

All the local active KH2 hams got together with those who visited the island last weekend for the CQWW DX contest last weekend for dinner last night.  I had the opportunity to meet Dima, RA9USU for the first time.  What a great guy - lots of great stories about 7O6T and other DXpeditions he has been on (he was the key player who got the license from the Yemen authorities). 

Anyway, he actually visited Guam primarily so he could stop off in Japan for a layover.  He was picking up a 2nd batch of 7O6T QSL cards from the printers in Japan.  With postal rates and customs issues, it is less expensive to buy a plane ticket and carry them as baggage. 

I would suspect that the rest of the 7O6T cards will be in the mail shortly.

73, Dave

We get some interesting propagation being closer to the equator.  I was looking through my CQWW DX CW log from last year and saw I had a 10m long path opening to the northeast USA at my 1AM local (15Z).  If the SFI is up, we often get this LP opening into the Caribbean also.  Sometimes it is the only time we can work this part of the world because otherwise we are fighting pileups from NA and sometimes JA as well.

73, Dave (NH2T for WWCW)

The vast majority of 2X1 KH2 and KH0 calls are held by Japanese nationals who have the call as a souvenier of sorts.  Their stateside address was just a mail drop for the license - QSLs sent to them will never make it back to the op. You need to send a QSL to their JA home call.  There are only a few hams who get and respond to buro cards sent to the KH2 buro (KG6DX, KH2/N2NL, NH2T, KH2L, and a couple more) - most non-residents have requested their buro cards be trashed.

73, Dave

Delwyn,

I've always taken VK/ZL to mean OC - and I've never gotten chastised for calling when someone is asking for VK/ZL.  As you know, propagation can sometimes be very different from VK to where you (and I) live but sometimes it works in our favor.  Before he left, AA7JV told me to call when they were asking for JA - because I'm closer to Japan than most parts in Australia.  Again, sometimes I get an advantage (LP) but other times I suffer (SP when the JAs are 1500 miles closer).  As an outlier (outside of JA, EU, NA) I've found almost all DXpeditions are happy if I call any time - remember those guys are DXers also so they like getting called by DX as well.  Only difference is when it's a local (OC) DXpedition.  In that case I won't call if they're asking for NA or EU.

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

The drivers of this DXpedition - AA7JV and HA7RY - are low band fanatics.  They are following the same band plan they used from VK9GMW and TX3A.  This has been announced as a low band DXpedition from the beginning - the other bands are "icing".  As a result, they have been heavily focused on 80 and 160 CW.  This can be frustrating for those who do not have antennas for these bands, or are not proficient on CW, but think about it another way.  These guys went to get on 160/80.  Otherwise they probably would not have gone - and you wouldn't have any chance to work PY0S at all.  Complaining about a lack of activity on one particular band or another is disparaging to the guys who are there, on their own dime for the most part.  I understand that most of the complaints here are out of simple frustration, but there are those especially on the DX cluster who bash away ruthlessly.  Makes me wonder if they would say the same thing if they were face-to-face with the PT0S ops.

73, Dave

PS - they have been very workable on 80m - with a good signal and good ears.  It's a 12,000 mile path from here (long path) yet it was an easy QSO.  NA and EU have it much, much easier especially if they wait for the dead of night after the riff-raff have all gone to bed.

As a contester, my goal is to work as many people as possible as quickly as possible.  I generally run about 36WPM when the band is wide open into NA or EU from here.  Otherwise, the number of callers exceeds my ability to put them in the log - causing a larger pileup and more chaos and even slower rates.  Even at 36WPM and 250 QSO/HR rate the pileup often grows to the point that my rate suffers as call sign fills are needed.

Granted, it would be dumb to call CQ at 36 WPM when I am getting no callers, because I am losing potential QSOs from those who are not CW speed demons, but when I have a pileup, I know that there are more 36WPM proficient guys out there than I can work at that point in time.

When asked to QRS, I always do it, unless of course I have a pileup.  EU is especially fickle - an EU pileup is chaos just waiting to happen.  You don't want to do anything to give the pileup more of an excuse to get rambunctious.

Also, I send my call sign after every QSO during a contest.  Outside of a contest - at least every other QSO, usually every time (KH2/N2NL takes longer to send than NH2T).  It is endlessly frustrating to tune across someone and having to wait 5 minutes to learn that you already worked him.

73, Dave

If he is willing, why not (1) cut his grass for him short (2) lay radials down directly onto the ground then (3) staple the radials down with bent pieces of wire.  Offer to cut his grass for a couple more months - and cut it long the first couple times.  Within a month or so, if the grass is growing, the radials will be completely invisible and out of harms way from the lawn mower.

Run more radials in directions where you can to compensate for directions where you can't.  Likewise, you can use chicken wire - lay it down when you need it, roll it back up when done.

73, Dave

Finally heard SV/A on 20m LP today - not strong by any means - but for the 1st time ever.  Half of Japan and Oceania (VK/ZL) were calling.  He was working only IK's and other EU.  Must be nice to be your own DXCC country.

Hopeless case.

Booming loud on 80m LP into the W PAC but only worked NA during this time - knocking the big guns out of the way.  He had KH2L? at one point but I got steam rolled by a W2.  Looks like LP on 80/40/30 will be very workable in a few days from here.  No mutual darkness on the LP for 160 so I will have to fight to be heard through both EU and JA which are significantly closer on the same azimuth (9,500 mile path from KH2).

73, Dave

 

Not sure if anyone noticed but conditions on 80m over the past few days (SFI=95, K=0) were spectacular.  Over a couple nights last weekend, I worked over a hundred NA on 80m, many with excellent 579-599 signals, up into W1 and Maine.  Last night I worked K8GU on a sked who was 579 here while he was running 100W into a vertical from Maryland.  Unfortunately, there were not many W2's who called in - a product of Sandy I suppose.

We are supposedly at the sunspot peak, but cyclically there are times now when activity is low - resulting in low absorption and low aurora - and good low band conditions.  I suspect solar activity might be bouncing upwards again for another 2-3 weeks, but I'll keep an eye on the low bands and will be QRV when things sound good, usually on my Friday/Saturday evenings when I don't have to wake up early in the AM.  As long as there isn't much tropical WX around, I generally hear pretty well with a 1000ft Beverage pointed at W3.

73, Dave KH2/N2NL

Hard from W6? Try from the Pacific.  In nearly 6 years total in KH2, I have never heard SV/A on any band, at any signal level.  Usually I see him choosing some band/mode combination that is impossible for anyone but EU to work, such as 80m RTTY.  The few times he has been on a band/mode combination when there is propagation from the Pacific, I hear nothing while other SV and I stations are loud.  This is with a station that made 6K plus QSOs in the last WW DX SSB and WW DX CW contest.  Meanwhile, I've heard both his huge Eastern EU pileup and JA pileup at the same time - both areas much closer along the path than I am.  I have written off ever working this entity from here.

I've only ever been able to work him a couple times from the East Coast - even from there it is a challenge.  To give him some credit, I've never had a problem getting those couple QSOs confirmed.

Unfortunately Sweepstakes is a domestic contest - no points for DX QSOs so I doubt you'll get anyone to work you.  There are several MT stations on the bands.  N9RV is a good one to look for - he has a big station and often can be found on 40 and 20m outside of contests working EU when the band is open.  ARRL DX in February is another good opportunity.

73, Dave